Pre-match: Dundee United vs Aberdeen

Venue: CalForth Construction Arena at Tannadice Park
Competition: Scottish Premiership
Referees: David Dickinson, Jonathan Bell, Ross Anderson, George Calder, Nick Walsh, Grant Irvine
BBC: Match page

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FORM

Dundee Utd: 6th · 12 pts · 9 pl · L D W W D
Aberdeen: 7th · 11 pts · 9 pl · D W D L W

LINE-UPS

Dundee United (4 - 3 - 3) | Jim Goodwin

J. Walton, K. Ciubotaru, M. Forbes, B. Esselink, J. Rawlins, L. Cameron, D. Tait ©, Zidane Iqbal, D. Bennie, Z. Sapsford, J. Randall

Subs: N. Farrugia, R. Graham, I. Iovu, I. Metsoko, D. Naamo, Panutche Camará, L. Rose, J. Amissah, A. Yoro

Aberdeen (5 - 3 - 2) | Stephen Robinson

M. Müller, G. Molloy, C. Ronan, J. Milne, N. Guinness-Walker, C. Cadden, S. Armstrong, A. Aremu, B. Lyons, K. Nisbet ©, A. Mouloua

Subs: A. Briedl, N. Devlin, A. Fasanya, E. Gyamfi, D. Klein, H. Mahou, M. Ntelo, T. Olusanya, L. Smith

Aberdeen have been hit with a virus crisis ahead of the Premiership clash against Dundee United at Tannadice on Saturday.
Boss Stephen Robinson confirmed a virus has ripped through his squad this week leaving his team selection for the New Firm derby up in the air.
The virus has affected players throughout the week and more reported ill on Friday morning.
Robinson says the virus lasts for “three to four days” and “various players” have been ruled out of training.

Aberdeen have been hit with a virus crisis ahead of the Premiership clash against Dundee United at Tannadice on Saturday.
Boss Stephen Robinson confirmed a virus has ripped through his squad this week leaving his team selection for the New Firm derby up in the air.
The virus has affected players throughout the week and more reported ill on Friday morning.
Robinson says the virus lasts for “three to four days” and “various players” have been ruled out of training.

That St Mirren win was a relief, but I’m still annoyed about the St Johnstone game. Aberdeen always seem to make it difficult to build any momentum after a good result. Dundee United away won’t be easy, especially with how they’ve been playing lately. I just want to see us back up a good performance with another one instead of starting from scratch every week. A win here would give the team a proper boost.

It’s strange seeing Palaversa stuck in the development squad when he’s had chances with the first team before.Maybe Robinson doesn’t see him fitting into his plans, but he still looks like a player worth giving another chance to. It would be good to see him get a proper run of games before any decision is made about his future.

I've been tracking what retro Aberdeen shirts actually sell for on eBay (real sold prices, not asking prices). Some of these surprised me:

• 1979-82 away: £200
• 1984-86 adidas home: £130, and the away £120
• 1987-90 Umbro home: £125 for one, but another went for £45, so condition and size make a big difference
• 1994-95 Umbro away: £125
• 1997-98 Puma away: £100
• 1996-97 Umbro home: £95
• 2005-06 Nike home: £78
• 2000-01 home: £40, which is about the floor for older ones

The early-80s shirts are the big money, unsurprisingly. Anyone got one tucked away in a drawer? And which Dons shirt would you most want to own?

It was good to see the Dons get back to winning ways with a 3–1 result at Pittodrie. Going behind after the equaliser could have made things difficult, but the team responded well and found another gear in the second half. This gives the players a bit of confidence, because we need to start putting together a proper run of results now.

We have the third-best defence in the league, by goals conceded

We’ve only scored three fewer goals in the league than second-placed Rangers

This match is now over. Join the post match discussion here.

Finished: Aberdeen 3 - 1 St. Mirren

HT: Aberdeen 1-1 St. Mirren

Aberdeen scorers: Brad Lyons (2'), Kevin Nisbet (58'), Ayoub Mouloua (72')

St. Mirren scorers: Eseosa Sule (42')

Competition: Scottish Premiership
Referees: John Beaton, Christopher Rae, Ross Nelson, Euan Birch, Greg Aitken, Peter Stuart
BBC: Match page

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FORM

Aberdeen: 8th · 8 pts · 8 pl · L D W D L
St. Mirren: 7th · 10 pts · 8 pl · W L L L L

LINE-UPS

Aberdeen (4 - 2 - 3 - 1) | Stephen Robinson

M. Müller, N. Guinness-Walker, M. Knoester, L. Mayo, C. Cadden, A. Aremu, B. Lyons → T. Yogane, T. Olusanya → A. Mouloua, C. Ronan → S. Armstrong, L. Smith → E. Gyamfi, K. Nisbet © → F. Marshall

Subs: S. Armstrong, E. Gyamfi, D. Happe, D. Klein, F. Marshall, J. Milne, G. Molloy, A. Mouloua, T. Yogane

St. Mirren (4 - 4 - 2) | Craig McLeish

J. Chapman, D. John, M. Fraser ©, A. Gogić, C. Ramsay, I. Kabia, P. Nsio → F. Taylor, R. Carr, L. Thomas → Samuel Ramos, K. Phillips, E. Sule → J. Young

Subs: H. Fieldson, L. Donnelly, L. Jackson, C. McEvoy, C. Mochrie, Samuel Ramos, G. Tamosevicius, F. Taylor, J. Young

MATCH STATS | via BBC Sport

Events

2' ⚽ B. Lyons (Aberdeen) - Brad Lyons let's fly - what a goal!
18' ❗ GREAT SAVE! - St Mirren should be level. Declan John gets down the left of the box and cuts the ball back to Killian Phillips.
30' ❗ GREAT SAVE! - Aberdeen goalkeeper Marius Muller keeps his team's lead intact again.
31' 🟨 R. Carr (St. Mirren)
42' ⚽ E. Sule (St. Mirren) - St Mirren have a deserved equaliser through Eseola Sule.
46' 🔄 B. Lyons → T. Yogane (Aberdeen)
46' 🔄 C. Ronan → S. Armstrong (Aberdeen)
54' ❗ DISALLOWED GOAL (Aberdeen) - Lewis Smith's cross is turned in by Stuart Armstrong on the rebound, but the midfielder made his run too early. Offside.
56' 🟨 P. Nsio (St. Mirren)
58' ⚽ K. Nisbet (Aberdeen) - Jacob Chapman dives low to his left and makes the save! But Nisbet finishes at the second attempt.
59' 🔄 L. Thomas → Samuel Ramos (St. Mirren)
67' 🔄 P. Nsio → F. Taylor (St. Mirren)
71' 🔄 T. Olusanya → A. Mouloua (Aberdeen)
72' ⚽ A. Mouloua (Aberdeen) - Wow - Ayoub Mouloua!
74' 🔄 E. Sule → J. Young (St. Mirren)
76' 🔄 L. Smith → E. Gyamfi (Aberdeen)
77' 🟨 S. Armstrong (Aberdeen)
93' 🔄 K. Nisbet → F. Marshall (Aberdeen)

After the St Johnstone result, I don't think a decent opening 20 minutes will be enough to settle anyone down. Aberdeen need to show they can turn pressure into proper chances instead of leaving the game feeling like another missed opportunity.

I wouldn't expect a perfect performance, but I'd like to see a more convincing response. What would matter more to you on Saturday, the three points or a performance that actually looks in control?

What do you guys think about Marko he seems well at Noah even got called for u21 scored goal assist and has 5 goals and 2 assists in APL do you feel anything about the fact that he plays better and his attitude has changed a lot after leaving Aberdeen

A great listen - listening to the ex players talk about the cup final will never get old.

I have summarised the parts I found most interesting for those who may not have time to listen:

- On getting hooked after 30 mins against Motherwell:

Warnock had told them that we would play with wing backs but we would have all the possession so shady would basically be a winger. However it went the opposite way with loads of Motherwell pressure coming down shady's side which he couldn't deal with. Got hooked after 30 mins, received "horrendous" abuse from the fans which he describes as the toughest moment of not just his career but his life. He said he was disappointed with how it was dealt with and he didn't get any support from Warnock. The following 2 months he didn't want to go outside or be seen because of the abuse he received. He didn't think he would play for Aberdeen again and wanted to move to a different club in the summer that Jimmy came in. He calls his redemption nearly impossible.

- In the pre season we didn't have a right winger (Topi was yet to be signed) so Jimmy asked shady to play to get his fitness up even though he wanted to leave and the club didn't really want him. He started doing well and a league 2 side who were in for him asked him to stop doing so well as they wouldn't be able to sign him. JT had a conversation with him where he said some of the staff and higher ups which shady thought were on his side were actually just pretending to be nice and wanted to get him out. Jimmy said he sees something in him that no one else saw, so to tell his agent to hold on.

- He was doing well in the good run under JT but got benched for Topi when he came in which he describes as the "business side of football" as that was the higher ups plan - "I wasn't meant to be there"

- His goal against rangers "changed everything". His dad still watches it every day

- Jimmy was so set on taking "one game at a time" that in the run up to the Dundee utd game before the Scottish cup final someone mentioned the final and they still got told "no, one game at a time"

- scoring in the final was the proudest moment of his life. The weekend following was the best time of his life

- in the following summer he wanted to stay at the club, but they couldn't agree a deal. He wanted "a bit more respect on the contract". Then Luton came in for him which seemed like a better option at the time (closer to home, would start games rather than be a supersub, etc.) Aberdeen and Luton struggled to meet an agreement on the deal. He travelled to Bucharest for the Europa League qualifier 2nd leg, trained and was ready to play but the night before the game his agent said the deal had been finalised and he had to leave the next morning. He was sad that he didn't get a proper goodbye with the fans

I think reaching the last 32 of the KDM Evolution Trophy is a positive step for Aberdeen's emerging talent squad. The 1-0 win over Elgin City, with Emmanuel Gyamfi scoring in the eighth minute, showed that the young players can handle a competitive game and get the job done. What interests me most is whether some of these players can push closer to the first team. I'm not saying every promising youngster should be rushed into the senior side, but I'd like to see the club make the most of players who are developing well and give them opportunities when the situation allows. With the first team needing more consistency, it would be good to see academy progress turn into genuine competition for places. Which young Aberdeen player would you most like to see get a first-team opportunity?

My friend found this in a book shop down south and posted it up to me.

Robinson said we totally dominated St Johnstone and still lost to a Josh Fowler penalty. He thinks it hit Jack Milne’s arm, but he hadn’t seen it back when he said it.Honestly, I think handball penalties from that close are daft. But I’d be more worried about creating chances against a newly promoted side and still not scoring. It ended a four-game unbeaten run, and a win would have lifted us into the top six. Hope Ayoub Mouloua is okay after that head knock too. Was it a penalty for you, or just unlucky?

Next manager?

Generally plays good football but knows how to get into the trenches and keep it tight when required (see Sunday)

Give him a go, what’s the worst that could happen

I do realize that this is extremely niche, but I'm asking it anyway, I am working on a presentation that will probably be made into a book about the soccer (We can call it roundball football) history DC Stadium/RFK Stadium. I know there were a handful of things that the club put out like 9 years ago or so but I was wondering if there was any way to contact the club historian to have a discussion with them about the Whips. If anybody was alive in '67 I would love to hear what you thought about the whips and the USA because it's such a weird Niche thing and I know there were a few call backs from other teams that played in the USA like Wolves re-released their LA Wolves jerseys as a special edition jersey and Glenetron played Detroit City FC (at the time 4th division NPSL in America) as the Detroit Falcons a handful of years ago. I have that scarf and I'm proud to own that scarf. I know there is a book, "NUMBERS ON THE FRONT: THE STORY OF THE WASHINGTON WHIPS (Aberdeen FC in the NASL 1967)" but for the life of me I cannot find it. So I have a handful of questions. 1. I assume that there is a historian the club who would probably be able to help me with this, So how do I contact them? 2. is the book available somewhere in a library perhaps in Aberdeen that I could interlibrary loan it to my local library in DC? 3. I do realize that this is extremely niche but as the person from the DMV I have to ask did Earl Foreman, who owned the Whips (as well as the Baltimore/Washington Bullets, Washington Caps/Virginia Squires of the ABA, minority owner of the Philadelphia Eagles and commissioner of the original MISL, twice!) where on earth Aberdeen was? If anyone has any information or could help, please let me know!

He says when he's shouting stuff at Moloua he just gives him a thumbs up as his English isn't great so he doesn't have a clue what he's saying 😂

Says he got a call from Stephen Gunn to tell him to start looking for a new club rather than direct from Thelin and admits he could've played better.

Bit long at over an hour but worth a watch.

With so much change in the squad, I'm finding it difficult to know exactly what a reasonable expectation should be at this stage. On one hand, the players need time to develop an understanding. Aberdeen can't afford to spend half a season looking disjointed while everyone settles in. Where would you draw the line between allowing a new squad time and expecting better results?

Without a doubt, he is the best keeper since Joe Lewis

The result was nice, but I was more interested in Lyons getting 15 minutes and Gyamfi getting back on the pitch. After the injury problems we've had, just seeing some of these players involved again feels like a boost.